The day was awful. There was no other way to describe it. On the other hand, Larkin could think of about ten other adjectives to describe her worse-than-awful day. Dreadful, terrible, appalling, unpleasant, poor, horrible, horrific, shocking, dire, bad. In fact, Larkin used the thesaurus on her phone to look up even more synonyms for awful. The activity kept her from thinking about the events of the day. Wednesdays are second worst, after Mondays, she decided.

She rode the bus home and bitterly missed the days when she would walk with Greta in the open air. The bus was stuffy and it was impossible to escape the cloying scent of body odor mixed with generously applied perfume.

Larkin had thought her day would be okay as long as she didn't fall asleep in class. That's the worst that could happen, she thought. That was before Larkin went to Chemistry.

It wasn't the class itself. She loved chemistry. Her love for the subject was amplified only by the fact that everyone else hated it. Naturally, she embraced that fact and quickly became the teacher's favorite. Alas, the issue was Jacob and the partner project they had been assigned to do on the third day of school.

Larkin refused to talk to Jacob. He had tried to approach her before class began, but she gave him the cold shoulder. If he was the one to shoot at her, Larkin didn't want anything to do with him. She thought she had someone to trust, but obviously not. Friends don't shoot at friends. Unless we're playing laser tag.

"Larkin," he had said, poking her on her shoulder. "We really should plan on when we are going to do this project. As much as I don't like this class, I also don't like waiting 'til the last minute to do things."

Larkin had narrowed her eyes infinitesimally. She didn't know how he could act so normal. Wasn't one supposed to be traumatized after shooting at another? Disregarding that she had never shot at anyone with a real, actual gun before, Larkin did think so. Jacob was a human, not a robot. She pursed her lips before deciding to break her icy silence.

"It's due next Friday. We have plenty of time," she mumbled. Larkin really liked the idea of doing the project by herself and simply turning it in without his name on it.

After that, Larkin angled her shoulders to face the window, completely blocking Jacob. Sweet peace.

Once chemistry was over, she faced German class with Finn and lunch with everyone. Greta was again missing, and Larkin couldn't help but wonder what had Greta missing school so often. She had missed Monday morning, too, and had shown up right before Larkin threw up and went home. Maybe she's in the mafia, thought Larkin. However, Larkin dismissed that idea quickly. Markusville didn't have a mafia. She would know.

During lunch, she blatantly avoided making any type of contact with Jacob. As a result, she ended up talking animatedly with Silvie about the upcoming Labor Day weekend, during which they all planned to go camping at Sterling Lake. Sadly, Jacob would probably be going with one of his friends, too.

()()()

Larkin let the house phone ring. She was busy digging through her backpack for her flash drive, and she swore she had seen it floating around on the bottom somewhere. She could hear the answering machine pick it up, and when she heard her mother's voice on the other end, she decided it would be best to answer it.

"Elizabeth, Larkin, it's me. Larkin, shouldn't you be home from school? Why aren't you picking—"

Larkin cut her mother off by picking up the phone.

"I'm here mom," groaned Larkin. "What's up?"

There was silence on the other end of the line before her mother continued.

"There is some nerve damage in your father's shoulder. They've started therapy because he has a lot of trouble moving it. Otherwise, everything's fine. How is it down there?"

Larkin sagged in relief. Her father was okay. She knew that a shot to the arm wasn't as bad as a shot to the stomach, or something like that, but she had been worried nonetheless.

"Good. Aunt Libby and I played Scrabble. When do you think you'll be back?" Despite Larkin's lack of contact with her parents when they were home, she still loved them. She missed them. She couldn't bear the thought of living without them.

"I don't know how long therapy will take. It shouldn't be too long, but after that, your father mentioned going on a vacation over Labor Day weekend—"

"Over Labor Day weekend? But we always go camping at Sterling Lake together! It's tradition."

"I know honey, but we've all been under a lot of stress. If you still want to go camping, I'm sure Aunt Libby or Greta's family would take you with them. Half the town goes there over Labor Day."

Despite the fact that this was true, Larkin was angry. She had gone camping with her parents at that lake for as long as she could remember. Not going was unthinkable. She had so many memories of splashing in the lake, riding her bicycle over the dirt paths, all with her parents. That was a time when she got to relax and just be Larkin, not Coalescence. Not a superhero, just a girl. She knew she was overreacting, but Larkin tried to hold back the tears prickling in her eyes. Her mother was right. Maybe Greta's family would take her with them.

"See you sometime, Mom, bye," Larkin said somberly.

Mrs. Knolls told her daughter to be good for Elizabeth before hanging up, leaving Larkin listening to the dial tone.

()()()

The days passed. Larkin's awful Wednesday turned into a moderately better Thursday, which was followed by a Friday, and Friday's are always wonderful.

Larkin's Friday was made extra wonderful by the fact that her parents were back. Until Labor Day weekend, at least.

She moved her stuff out of her aunt's home, disappointed that she never got to find out who the stranger in the guest bedroom was. Larkin was counting on the following weekend to give her answers. She just had to live through another week of school. Not to mention that the chemistry project was due on Friday, and she hadn't spoken to Jacob since Wednesday.

As Larkin worked on returning her clothes to their proper spots in her closet, she couldn't help but feel happy. Ever since Monday, she hadn't had a single major crime to stop. It seemed as if the criminals were giving her some peace. She hadn't heard from Magnolia Newman again, and slightly wondered what the girl's purpose in coming back to Markusville was. Why would she want to go back to a place that held so many awful memories?

Finishing up unpacking, Larkin walked down the stairs to the living room, where her parents were both currently relaxing. Her father was resting in his recliner, his right shoulder and upper arm bandaged and immobile. Larkin winced as she looked at it, glad that she could let bullets pass right through her. Who knows how many she'd have in her if she didn't have that power. Well, only one, probably. I'd be dead after one bullet wound. Larkin chuckled at her crude humor before sitting on the couch across from her mother's chair.

"Hey Mom, can I go to Greta's tonight?" she asked.

Larkin's mother looked up from the newspaper. She blinked.

"I guess that would be fine. Richard?" She glanced at her husband. He looked at Larkin and then to his wife before nodding.

"So I can?"

"Mhmm. Just make sure you come back by two tomorrow. You have a dentist appointment," reminded Mrs. Knolls.

Barely waiting to hear what her mother had said, Larkin leapt back upstairs, two at a time, and grabbed a bag smaller than the one she took to Aunt Libby's. She quickly shoved a few items of clothing into her bag before almost falling down the stairs and out the front door.

It was about four o'clock. The sun was relentless, and Larkin felt like she could feel it frying her skin as she walked next door to Greta's house. The shade of the porch welcomed Larkin, and she rang the doorbell. She waited. And waited.

Larkin hadn't texted Greta previously about arriving at her house. They always did this. Every other Friday, one of them would show up at the other's house. If one of them had something planned, they would always text each other to make sure they didn't show up at an empty house.

Greta was at school today. Larkin didn't forget things that fast. There was no good reason for Greta not to be home.

Larkin rang the doorbell again. This time, she did hear faint footsteps approaching. Greta's mother opened the door.

"Hey Mrs. Avers. I'm here for Greta," said Larkin.

Larkin smiled invitingly at Mrs. Avers. She had known Greta's mother since forever. However, Greta's mother did not return Larkin's courteous smile. Instead, she frowned.

"Greta told me she would be at your house this evening. She left an hour ago." The woman's worry for her daughter was evident as she wrung her hands together. "Did she not show up?"

Larkin was equally confused. "This weekend is supposed to be at your house. And no, I didn't see her come to mine, either."

"Then where is my daughter?"

Mrs. Avers didn't waste another second of idly standing around. She abruptly turned around and ran back into her house. "I need to call the police!"

Larkin immediately felt the urge to help. As a super, it was hardwired into her. Wherever Greta had gone, Larkin would find her. But something was bothering her.

"Wait!" Larkin yelled, stepping into the house. "I don't think Greta wants to be found."

Mrs. Avers frowned as she looked back upon Larkin. "What do you mean?" She had her cell phone in her hand, ready to call 911.

"Well, I highly doubt she would get lost or kidnapped in the twenty feet separating our houses. It's not far at all. I think she had somewhere else to go, but she didn't want to tell you or me about it."

"But why? Why would she go off like this? Especially without telling me!"

At this point, Larkin realized that her mother most likely didn't know about Greta's recent absences at school. She decided it would be best not to bring them up now.

Larkin didn't really know why Greta would disappear so suddenly, but she wanted to calm Mrs. Avers.

"She probably wanted some time alone. If she isn't back by tomorrow morning, then I would worry. I promise. Your daughter's fine." Larkin tried to sound soothing. "When you were young, didn't you go places without your parents' permission?"

With a hesitant nod, Mrs. Avers set her phone back on the table. "I suppose you're right. However, when she gets back, I will be grounding her."

Larkin enthusiastically nodded. "Of course!" I'm just going to go back to my house now. If she shows up, I'll be sure to tell you first."

And with that, Larkin left. She did go back to her house to drop off her bag, however, she did not stay at home. No. She would find Greta. She would find Greta and make her spill all of her secrets.

I decided to take advantage of the new multimedia thing. Here is a lovely picture I took of the rating. It brings me joy.